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Show Us Your Binoculars.


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Paul, I've got an expensive all singing pan and tilt system on my three legged thing ( honestly, thats what their called ?) and it hardly ever gets used, but my  Manfrotto 222 is always in use when I'm using binoculars, even on my 8x40's? Just makes the entire view that much more stable, making the image appear sharper.
Once setup the  binoculars stay exactly where I place them.
For me, the Manfrotto 222 is a solid bit of kit, discontinued now, but if anyone comes across one, I'd surely recommend  their purchase. 

You should clearly see and feel the  difference whilst  using a trigger grip. 

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4 hours ago, Charic said:

Paul, I've got an expensive all singing pan and tilt system on my three legged thing ( honestly, thats what their called ?) and it hardly ever gets used, but my  Manfrotto 222 is always in use when I'm using binoculars, even on my 8x40's? Just makes the entire view that much more stable, making the image appear sharper.
Once setup the  binoculars stay exactly where I place them.
For me, the Manfrotto 222 is a solid bit of kit, discontinued now, but if anyone comes across one, I'd surely recommend  their purchase. 

You should clearly see and feel the  difference whilst  using a trigger grip. 

So, are you saying its a good or bad investment. 50 quid............worth a punt.

Edited by LukeSkywatcher
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On 20/07/2018 at 00:57, LukeSkywatcher said:

So, are you saying its a good or bad investment. 50 quid............worth a punt.

One of the most useful accessories I've ever owned, so yes, a good investment,  because squeezing a fully adjustable trigger grip on a ball head is far more convenient than unlocking the  pan & tilt levers on my other head, and the trigger grip is a one handed operation.

When I  looked for a trigger, I came across many positives over Manfrotto's build quality, but their 222 was discontinued, yet it just so happened, someone had a 'spare' 222 trigger grip laying idle, I was lucky, the cost was low, and its a decent bit of kit. I wasn't doubting how much your going to spend on the Ravelli. These days, many of the more expensive tripods are headless, meaning  even more expense, after deciding on which head to purchase,so a complete setup for  under £60 is/sounds like a bargain.
With many brands to choose from, there will always the favourite or recommended version?  I've only ever used this one, sorry if there was any doubt from my original reply.

A rock steady view makes a huge visual difference ?

Edited by Charic
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Something a little different. An old pair of Chinon Countryman 7x35 wide angle. They are specced at 11 degrees,  but I think 10 is more realistic.

A kind gentleman from this forum 3D printed some filter holders for me so I have OIII and UHC on here, nice for the NAN and other widefield targets. The moon was bright last night (obviously!) But I still got some nice hints of the NAN with these.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have to say I've never even looked in the Binocular threads, but I do have a pair of Sunagor 8-24x Mini Zoom bins which I've had for so long I can't even remember exactly where and when I bought them. It was probably 30 odd years ago and possibly from Jessops, or maybe even Argos in Southampton, not sure.

Anyway, they are really compact and great for keeping in your pocket when hiking etc. and nice and lightweight. The zoom function works surprisingly well, though you do have to re-focus as you zoom. FOV is obviously smaller at 24x but still acceptable and the views are really quite sharp for a cheap and cheerful pair.

I quite often still use them to scour the sky for faint visual objects like Omega Centauri before unleashing the 12 inch Dob.

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Out of interest, Sunagor are still going strong and have the proud boast of producing the world's most powerful binoculars, the mind boggles as to how truly awful they must be at 160x zoom!  http://www.sunagor.com/acatalog/info_13.html

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My binoculars are just a cheap set of Gordon's 10x50 on a small tripod. Since I'm usually sitting when using them, I extend two of the legs and rest them on my legs. Have had some great steady views this way.

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On ‎15‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 03:29, Stub Mandrel said:

Show us your neck-strap...

No neck-strap on this guy....How about a pair of 16x80mm Parks binocs mounted on a homemade GOTO binochair with a 40K object database powered by Nexstar 4SE servomotors/electronics/software?  Pick the celestial object you want to observe on the Celestron controller, press "Enter" and the chair will take you there with it centered in the big Parks 16x80's field of view in less than 30 seconds powered by two big Nexstar 4SE servomotors on each axis via a steel cable (wrapping/unwrapping) on a steel drum in Altitude drive (last pic) and a big gear in the Azimuth drive.  It's one-of-a-kind.  Sometimes on occasion...I attach my C-8 with a binoviewer too for a different GOTO observing experience....

P.S.  The story of the GOTO binochair design and construction appeared in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy Technology Today during the same July monthly issue in 2012...a first!

Klitwo

GOTO Binochair 16x80mm Parks Binocular Mount.PNG

GOTO Bino Chair (3).jpg

 

 

GOTO Bino Chair.jpg

 

GOTO Bino Chair Dual Servomotor Altitude Cable Drive.PNG

Edited by Klitwo
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